Round 1, fight

[SubzeroDiabolos]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...-447-_-Product

versus

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814150455

First one pros and cons: Relatively cheap, wouldn't need to buy a new PSU. Better than my 8800 GT. Could buy soon, but don't know if it can run my games max setting.

Second one pros and cons: Probably alot better since it's double the price, would probably let me run just about anything 1920x1080, but I would have to buy a new PSU since it's recommended minimum 500 watt and that's exactly what I have. It would take me 1 to 2 months (possibly more if emergency happens) to gather money.

What I would need it for (of course, @ max settings (except maybe GTA IV, lolport)):

GTA IV
MW2
NFS: Shift
L4D2

Can first one conquer these ok, or is the investment for second one worth while?

thx.

[Cephius]

You wouldn't really need to buy a better PSU for the second one unless you plan on overclocking your stuff or have a ton of peripherals or something. They generally overestimate how much juice you need.

That being said, the games you listed should play at the highest settings with the first card. Depends on if you want to pay extra and get a bit more out of it.

[Kryssan]

That wattage thing is annoying. Too many people use that as their sole indicator for a PSU, and wind up overbuying or worse, buying something that fails on them. Amps and number of rails, that is what you need to know. Wattage of the unit total is not something to be hung up over.

[fishstix]

The first card might have a few slight hiccups at the absolute max settings but should overall be just fine. Looking at this benchmark, it places it a little below the gtx 260 which is what I use, and it plays those games with max settings.

[Kohan]

Amps and number of rails, that is what you need to know.

Though the latter shouldn't be considered the end-all of requirements, either.

How Many Rails?
A rail in a PSU is a single voltage point provided by the power supply. You have to be careful because some PSUs are marketed as multiple-rail systems but instead of having separate circuitry for each voltage point, they really contain only a single rail split into multiple lines. A true multiple-rail PSU will have separate circuits for each rail, and each circuit will have its own independent amperage. More rails are definitely a convenience, but you can waste power if any rail's output is not completely utilized. Because the amperage allocated to a particular rail is isolated from the rest of the system electrically, any unused amperage is not available to the other rails. Power can also be lost due to the additional resistances that are part of the distribution architecture.

Remember: If you get a PSU with current-limited rails, you may find yourself playing the load balancing game. If the number of components you hang on any particular rail exceeds the specified amperage limit for that rail, the PSU will shut down, forcing you to try different combinations of connections until you find one that does not overload any single rail's output. This is why extreme computing types frequently choose a high-amperage PSU with a single rail that is not current limited.

Source: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2355186,00.asp

It is indeed a good idea to read about various PSUs, and settle on one which has the actual throughput and efficiency which will suit your needs, which includes keeping your system running reliably, and everything which goes with that.

[Olo401]

This should help a little bit.. Base settings & specs for each card!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...comparison.png

You'll notice a pattern - the Cypress cards have roughly double the graphics processing power of the Junipers. Also, the 5970 is essentially a 5870x2.

[SubzeroDiabolos]

So it appears I would definetly get alot more out of the second card. k.

Now to another question then.

New PSU, yes/no?

Rig: Phenom II x4 3GHz quad

Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H mobo

Some low end 500w PSU (paid like 50$ for).

Geforce 8800GT video card.

[SubzeroDiabolos]

No overclocking intented at all btw.

[Olo401]

Nah you won't need more than a 500W PSU with that build. You can probably even get away with 400W since you're not planning to OC.

[guartz]

gpureview.com

learn it

[Deadgye]

The real question is whether to get 5770x2 or a 5850. :3

[Olo401]

The real question is whether to get 5770x2 or a 5850. :3

Unless you specifically need Crossfire/SLI for an application or serious epeen, the general rule is to get the best single GPU card you can afford OR get a single dual-GPU card.

[Deadgye]

Unless you specifically need Crossfire/SLI for an application or serious epeen, the general rule is to get the best single GPU card you can afford OR get a single dual-GPU card.

General rule, yes. The difference here though is the 5770x2 is better than the 5850; on par with the 5870 iirc, and it costs the same as the 5850. If you don't plan to upgrade for a while then it could be better.

[Olo401]

General rule, yes. The difference here though is the 5770x2 is better than the 5850; on par with the 5870 iirc, and it costs the same as the 5850. If you don't plan to upgrade for a while then it could be better.

Actually that's true.. And with the way the market is overpricing the 58xx cards right now this route is probably a pretty good investment.